Chapter 9 Tools for Online Learning Chapter Nine T

EDUCATIONFORANINFORMATIONAGETeachingInTheComputerizedClassroom,6theditionCopyright©BernardJohnPoole,BetsySky-McIlvain,LorrieJackson,YvonneSinger,2006,allrightsreservedChapter9:ToolsforOnlineLearning248ChapterNineToolsforOnlineLearningWeshallnotceasefromexploration.AndtheendofallourexploringWillbetoarrivewherewestartedAndknowtheplaceforthefirsttime.T.S.Eliot“LittleGidding”Itisgoodtohaveanendtojourneytowardsbutitisthejourneythatmattersintheend.UrsulaLeGuinTheLeftHandofDarknessLEARNINGOUTCOMESComputersareintoday’sschools.Whetherinalab,cart,orclassroom,whetherasadesktop,laptop,orevenhandheld,mostteachersandstudentshavesomeaccesstocomputersatschool.Formanyteachers,however,regularaccesstothosecomputersisspottyatbest.Labscanbeoverbookedornonexistentandcomputerscanbeoutdatedorout-of-order.Teacherswithjustonestudentcomputerstruggletocreatemeaningfullearningexperienceswiththatmachine.Stillothersareluckyenoughtohavethelatesttechnologyinabundance,yetlackthetrainingtousethattechnologysuccessfullyinthecurriculum.Internetaccessisoftenubiquitousintheclassroomaswell;92%ofAmerica’spublicschoolshadInternetaccessin2001(Solomon).However,thepresenceofInternetaccessrarelyensuresthereliabilityandusabilityofthataccess.Studentscheckingemail,playingonlinegames,ordownloadingmusiccandrasticallycutconnectionspeeds.Poornetworkinfrastructureandcontentfilterproblemsfurthercomplicatematters.Moreover,mostInternetusageinschoolsisrelegatedtoasimplesearchusingasearchenginesuchasYahooorGoogle,forexample.Twoproblemsexistwhensearchenginesformthefoundationofonlinelearning.First,siftingthroughthemillionsandmillionsofWebsitesoutthereforjustafew,age-appropriate,educationally-soundsitescanbeachallenge,especiallywith20or30studentsplayingsearchenginerouletteallatonce.Second,onceanacceptablesiteisfound,thestudentoftendoeslittlemorethancut-and-pastetextandgraphicsfromthatpagetohis/herreport.Suchsearchesoftenendupbeingtime-consumingandmindnumbing.Notsurprisingly,onlyathirdofAmerica’steacherssaythattheyactivelyintegratetheInternetintotheclassroomactivities(Harris,2002).DespitethesechallengestousingtheInternetintheclassroom,onlinelearningcanbeaneffectiveandvaluablewaytoenhancethelearningenvironment.Connectionwiththerealworldinrealtime,chancestocollaboratewithothersworldwide,accesstoprimarysourcedocuments,andEDUCATIONFORANINFORMATIONAGETeachingInTheComputerizedClassroom,6theditionCopyright©BernardJohnPoole,BetsySky-McIlvain,LorrieJackson,YvonneSinger,2006,allrightsreservedChapter9:ToolsforOnlineLearning249opportunitiestoexpandknowledgebeyondtheclassroomwallsarejustafewofthewaysteachingwiththe‘Netcanimprovelearning(Solomon).Howdoestoday’sK-12teacherreconcilethebenefitsofonlinelearningwiththechallengestoaccessingandusingtheInternetonaregularbasis?EffectiveintegrationoftheInternetintothecurriculumstartswithanunderstandingandusageofOnlineLearningTools,thoseWebsitesandweb-basedactivitiesthatintentionallyfocusandfacilitateK-12learning.Thischapterhighlightsthesetoolsandprovidesthepre-serviceandin-serviceteacherwiththeinformationneededtousetheseresourcesintoday’sclassroom.Topicscoveredinthischapterinclude:•Introduction•Surfingthe‘Net•EffectiveInternetUse•CharacteristicsofQualityOnlineLearningTools•ExamplesofFreeOnlineLearningTools•LearningOutcomesofOnlineLearningTools•SkillReinforcement•HumanInteraction•OnlineAssessment•WebResearchandResourcesforTechnologyUsingTeachers•InteractiveOutlines•WebQuests•VirtualFieldTrips•Tracks•LearningToolsforStudents•KnowledgeConstruction•ImpactontheLearningProcess•TipsforTeachingwithOnlineLearningTools•AdaptationstoYourClassroomManagementStyle•TipsforMakingEffectiveUseoftheInternetwithYoungChildren•ConclusionEDUCATIONFORANINFORMATIONAGETeachingInTheComputerizedClassroom,6theditionCopyright©BernardJohnPoole,BetsySky-McIlvain,LorrieJackson,YvonneSinger,2006,allrightsreservedChapter9:ToolsforOnlineLearning250INTRODUCTIONSurfingthe‘NetWecallit“surfingthe‘Net.”WetypeinakeywordortwointoYahoo.Upcomemillionsorperhapsjustthousandsofsitesonourtopic.Ifwe’resmart,wedoanadvancedsearchoruseBooleanoperatorslike“and”or“+”torefineoursearch.Stillwegetnumeroussites,oftenfartoomanytoevaluategiventhetimewehave.Whataboutourstudents?Thecriticaleyewehavedevelopedoveryearsaseducationprofessionalsourselveshasnotyetmaturedinmanyofourstudents,particularlythoseinK-6.Theygetsidetracked,dazzledbyintriguingdomainnamesoranimatedbanners.Theteacher’sinthecomputerlabtodoresearchontheGreatWallinChinaandthestudentsarelostinsearchengineno-man’sland.TheInternetcanbenothingmorethantheworld’slargestlibrarythathassuddenlybeenhitwiththefirstindoorstornadoonrecord.Likearoomfilledwithmillionsofsheetsofbookpages,lotsofvaluableinformationabounds,butitisinnoparticularorderandappearstoconnecttonothingelse.Notaveryeffectivewaytousevaluableclasstime,right?Yet,almost70%oftheteachersrecentlysurveyedsaidthatresearchinginformationwastheonlywaytheyusedtheInternetintheirclasses(Harris).EvenifyoucanteachyourstudentsacriticalandefficientwaytosurftheInternet,whatwillyouaskthemtodowiththeinformati